Olympus Corporation (President and Representative Director: Hiroyuki Sasa) today announced the U.S.-only launch of a new 3D cell analysis technology with ability to accurately analyze 3D cell cultures down to the nuclei, improving the reliability and accuracy of the entire drug discovery process, from compound selection to animal experimentation and clinical trials in humans.

The search for new drugs to treat diseases is a long and costly process with no guarantee of success. Biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies can invest as many as 10 to 20 years and hundreds of millions of dollars in the effort to develop a new drug, yet the probability of success is low; among 30,000 compounds, only one will become a new drug. The use of 3D cell models that simulate a living body help reduce these risks and speed up the drug discovery process. Using 3D cultured cell tissue, known as spheroids and organoids1, researchers can analyze the effects and toxicity of new drugs in a bioenvironment similar to that of a living human body. This approach improves the accuracy of results at the preliminary stage of clinical trials.

To develop a solution to meet this need, Olympus combined its 3D imaging technology with powerful algorithms and a new method to analyze the whole cell model in 3D. The result is Olympus’ new NoviSight software with True 3D cell analysis technology, a valuable tool designed to help accelerate drug discovery research.

Details of Main Features

Used with Olympus’ confocal laser scanning microscopes, such as the FLUOVIEW FV3000 system, NoviSight 3D cell analysis software provides images of the cell cluster down to the nuclei. The software’s True 3D technology uses multiple microplate images to provide accurate morphology data and the ability to quantitatively analyze the effect of medications, including growth suppression and cell survival rates. A range of parameters can be easily and precisely measured, enabling researchers to count the number of cells that have suppressed growth, proliferated, or been annihilated. NoviSight 3D cell analysis software also makes it easy to compare the effects of different medications at various concentrations.

In addition to improved insights and accuracy, NoviSight 3D cell analysis software has practical features built into the user interface that can facilitate and accelerate the interpretation and validation process:

Recognition, analysis, and statistical results are displayed all on one screen

Alternate between 3D and 2D views of sample

Interact with the quantitative data to display it in a scatterplot, heat map, or graph

Clicking points in one of the graphical display options automatically opens the corresponding original image

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